GALACTIC UNITY

By:  Mark J. Hadley

 

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CHAPTER 9:

“Dispute”

 

 

Xianea’s ship dropped out of faster-than-light travel, at the edge of the conflict area.  In front of them, the massive armada loomed, split into two forces facing each other.  On one side, Blossom recognized them as Hkratth ships.  On the other, there were similar battle cruisers, except they were long and sleek compared to the others. Sanhreni ships, no doubt.  “Are you sure it’s safe to stop here?” she asked.

“No,” Xianea answered her, “but we really don’t have any choice.  If they’re going to detect us either way, the last place we want to be is right in the thick of the battle.  If we’re too far from it, then other patrol ships not involved in the battle will be after us.  This is the one spot where we have the least chance of being attacked.”

As she spoke, they received a transmission.  The screen lit up with a picture of a Hkratth, who said, “Alien vessel!  Why are you intruding into Hkratth space?  We can’t spare the time to deal with you right now, so leave immediately!”

Bubbles leaned over and whispered to Blossom, “Wow, you’re right…they do look just like Fuzzy…”

“Hkratth ship,” Xianea said, thinking quickly.  “My name is Xianea.  I…wish to help resolve your conflict with the Sanhreni, in a peaceful manner.”

The Hkratth narrowed his eyes, “Why would you want to help us?”

“Centraxians are dedicated to peace,” she replied.  “We can find a solution to your problem, if you give us time…”

“In exchange for what?” the Hkratth asked.  “You wouldn’t be doing this if you didn’t want something…”

Taking a deep breath, Xianea said, “We understand that there is a massive library on your homeworld.  We would like access to it…just once.  Afterwards, we will leave, and never return to Hkratth space if you wish.  Surely a peaceful resolution to your problem is worth that.”

The Hkratth scratched his chin and said, “So, you convince these pests to leave willingly, and we let you access our library?  Hmm…all right, you have my interest.  See what you can do, but if you fail, you will be driven out, and shall never return to our territory again, ever.”

“Deal,” Xianea said, nodding.  She switched off the communications screen, and sighed.  The girls glanced at each other, then back at Xianea, who said, “To be honest, I don’t know how we’re going to do this.  I was just buying us some time…”

“I think we should be able to help,” Blossom said.  “We’ve had some luck with negotiations in the past.”

“That’s right,” Bubbles said.  “One time, I talked a huge monster into not attacking our city…”

                Xianea smiled, “Well, I could use all the help I can get.”  She looked at Buttercup, “Although, I know you well enough by now to assume that you do most of your negotiating with your fists, right?”

                Buttercup folded her arms, “Yeah, so?  A punch is worth a thousand words, you know.”

                “Xianea’s right, Buttercup,” Blossom told her.  “You’d better stay behind on this one.  We’re not going for intimidation here; we want a passive solution.”

                Buttercup shrugged, “Fine…diplomacy’s not my thing anyway.  If you need backup, though, just gimme a shout, okay?”

                “You bet!” Bubbles said.

They all looked out of the window and noticed one of the Sanhreni ships breaking off from the squadron and moving to intercept them.  The girls looked concerned, but Xianea said, “Don’t worry, they’re coming by to dock with us.  The Hkratth must have contacted them and arranged the meeting to be held on that ship.”

Xianea moved the ship into position, and the two ships slowly docked with one another.  She got up from the control station and said, “All right, let’s go.  Buttercup, this is very important…if there’s any sign of struggle outside by the armada, contact me immediately by this communicator.”  She handed a small, palm-sized device to her.

“You got it,” Buttercup replied.  She took a seat by the window to keep watch, while the rest of them went further back into the ship, ready to board the Sanhreni vessel.  Buttercup gazed out of the window at the armada and thought to herself, That’s a lot of ships…I hope those three do sort this thing out, ‘cause it’s gonna be one brutal battle if they don’t…

 

*              *                *

 

                The vessel they boarded was a lot larger than theirs was.  They were lead to a large chamber, which they were using to conduct the meeting, with a group of Hktratth on one side of a large oval table, and a group of Sanhreni on the other side.  The Sanhreni were very short, almost the same size as the girls, and had an off-white color of skin, almost like an eggshell white.  They had a thick brow above their large green eyes, and didn’t have any hair, nor did they appear to have noses or ears.  They wore simple black outfits with no decorations of any kind.

                They were also deep into a heated discussion with the Hkratth.  There was shouting going back and forth between them.  Xianea stepped up to the head of the table and announced, “May I have your attention, please?”  They quieted down for the most part.

                “Very well…say what you came to say, Centraxian,” replied one of the Sanhreni, not taking his eyes off of the Hkratth directly opposite of him.

                As Blossom and Bubbles hovered up by her sides, Xianea nodded and spoke, “First, I would like to hear each perspective of this conflict, beginning with the Hkratth.  And I don’t mean about whatever struggle you’re in right now…go back to the beginning.  Why did you develop these disputes with the Sanhreni in the first place?”

                An extremely burly Hkratth stood up from the table and growled, “It’s simple.  These vermin wanted to colonize in a planet within our boundaries.”  He glared at the nearest Sanhreni and added, “Our borders are clearly defined…there’s no excuse for their actions!  We demand that they leave our space immediately!”

                Xianea held a hand up, “Take it easy, we need more information first.  I need to hear from the Sanhreni now.”  She waited as the Hkratth frowned and reluctantly took his seat again.  She looked in the others’ direction.

                A Sanhreni stood up, and said, “The truth of the matter is, that planet once belonged to us.  It was within our own boundaries, until the Hkratth unexpectedly extended their ‘space’ to include it.  We only want what once was ours.”

                “Lies!” the Hkratth spat out.  “That planet was uninhabited when we annexed it!”

                “Of course it was uninhabited!” the Sanhreni shouted back.  “We had to retreat from the full invasion force you mounted against us!”

                “They were exploration ships, nothing more,” the Hkratth replied, folding his arms.  “You shouldn’t have been so quick to jump to conclusions.  If you choose to abandon a planet, you can’t just come back for it later!”

                “Are all Hkratth ‘exploration ships’ so heavily armed?”

                “Are all Sanhreni such vile and disgusting…”

                “That’s enough!” Blossom shouted loudly, cutting them off.  They turned to look at her in surprise.  Blossom flew out above the table and said, “This seems like a simple misunderstanding to me, so let me ask.  Hkratth, did you send any kind of message to the planet to let them know you were just explorers?”

                “Well…no, we didn’t get the opportunity,” the Hkratth said slowly.  “They had left the planet as we approached.”

                Blossom frowned, “You should have warned them as you approached, not just waited until you arrived.”  She turned to the Sanhreni and said, “And why were you so quick to abandon the planet?  You had a colony there already, I take it?”

                “We did,” he answered.  “We…didn’t want to be destroyed by the invasion force.”

                “But you took everything with you?” Blossom asked,  “Why didn’t you leave something behind?  At least to show that the planet was still claimed…”

                “We…we didn’t…think it would matter…” he stammered.

                Xianea spoke up, “Actually, it would have.  If there’s one thing from past records about the Hkratth, it’s that despite their strong protectiveness of their own territory, they usually respect territory that belongs to another, except when their own borders are violated.”

                “The way I see it, you both contributed to this mess,” Blossom pointed out.  “You shouldn’t fight over this.  In fact, you shouldn’t be fighting about other things because of this, either.  What you need to do is come up with a solution that is fair to both of you.”

                A silence filled the hall for a moment, and Bubbles suddenly said, “I have an idea!”  She looked over at the Sanhreni, “Do you guys leave your planets very much?”

                “Not really,” he replied.  “Only to explore, or to send a colony ship out to another planet.  We don’t build space stations or the like.  In fact, we haven’t even needed any kind of battle fleet until this incident.”

                “So how about this…”  She flew over to the center of the table, where a map of the region was showing, and pointed at the planet, “You guys get to have this planet…but the space around it belongs to the Hkrr…”  She hesitated, knowing she might insult them by mispronouncing their name, and just waved her hand towards the Hkratth, “…you guys.”

                Blossom smiled, “Hey, I think I get it…that way, they can do whatever they want on the planet, but the rare times that they need to send a ship out, they just get clearance from the Hkratth to launch and pass through.  The actual region belongs to them, so they can build and stuff there, and only have to worry about the occasional Sanhreni ship coming and going from time to time.”

                “Exactly!” Bubbles agreed.

                The Hkratth rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment and said, “Hmm…that actually sounds acceptable to us…”  The other members of the Hkratth on his side of the table nodded their consent.  “I would agree to these terms.  What do you say?”

                All the Sanhreni huddled for a moment to whisper to each other, and finally the one that was speaking before stepped forward from the group and said, “We approve to these conditions as well.”

                A smile cross Xianea’s face, “Excellent!  Then it’s settled…we can put this whole struggle behind us and try to be friends.”

                “Don’t be so hasty,” the Hkratth said.  “We will still be watching them as they pass near our territory.  But yes, perhaps an alliance of some sort would be possible someday…”

                The Sanhreni smiled a little and said, “It seems unthinkable, but who knows what the future will bring…”

                As the Hkratth and the Sanhreni got back up, and the Hkratth prepared to return to their ships, the girls flew back over to Xianea…both of them were smiling just as much as she was.  Xianea said, “I’m speechless…that was an astonishing job you two did.  Thanks to your little speech and suggestion, you may have averted a war.”

                “Thanks!” Blossom and Bubbles said together.  The three of them turned to head back to their own ship, and Xianea thought, There’s so much more to these girls than meets the eye…their talents are truly boundless.  I couldn’t be more proud of them, even if they were my own children…

 

*              *                *

 

                Xianea, Blossom, and Bubbles returned to the cockpit of their ship.  As they came through the door, they saw Buttercup sitting over by the window, gazing out.  She glanced over as they walked in, but something seemed different.  Her eyes seemed a little puffy, like she had just been crying…they only caught a glimpse of it, though, because in the next, she had turned away from them, to look back out of the window.

                “Buttercup?” Blossom said, concerned.

“Oh hey, how did it go?” Buttercup asked.  Her voice sounded casual, but a little too casual, like she was forcing it.

Bubbles said, “Great!  We got them to make peace…”  She hesitated, “Umm, is something wrong?”

Buttercup quickly responded, “Nothing.  Whoops, I gotta go check to see if dinner’s okay, ‘cause y’know, we left it cooking when all this happened…”  She got up and flew past them in a flash of green light.

Blossom and Bubbles looked up at Xianea, who said, “I think I’ll go check on dinner also.  Blossom, you have the controls while I’m gone, ok?”

“Roger!” Blossom said, tossing off a small salute.

Xianea grinned, and headed out the door into the corridor.  She crossed it and stepped into the chamber where the food was being prepared.  She saw Buttercup sitting at one of the tables.  Buttercup glanced up at her for a moment, then looked past her, like she was looking for someone else.

“I’m by myself,” Xianea said, letting the door close behind her.  She walked over to the table and said, “Are you all right?”

“Xianea…” Buttercup said, but then trailed off.  She took a deep breath and said, “I didn’t want the other girls to see me like this…”

Xianea sat down next to her and listened, as she continued talking, “When…when the Earth was destroyed…I was devastated.  Probably worse than they were.  I didn’t…well, I didn’t want them to see it, so I played tough, y’know…”

“I see…” Xianea said.  “You kept it all bottled up inside, then…”

Buttercup nodded, “It’s been…a while since that…when it happened.  They seem to be taking it so well, now…like they’re moving on.  But I just…I just can’t get it out of my mind…”  A few tears escaped her eyes, “I still feel awful, like I did when it happened…and it’s not…getting any easier…”

“I understand,” Xianea said, putting a consoling hand on her shoulder.  As she did this, Buttercup finally broke, and started crying, putting her head down on the table in her arms.  Xianea stayed quiet, letting her get it all out.

After almost a minute, Buttercup raised her head slightly and sobbed, “Look at me…cryin’ like a baby…I can’t let ‘em see me like this…I’m supposed to be the tough one…not this…”

“It’s all right,” Xianea reasuured her in a soft voice.  “You have more bravery than you’re giving yourself credit for.  It takes a lot of courage to show your feelings.  If you can tell them to me, you shouldn’t just hide them from the other girls.  They feel the same way you do about it, I’m sure of it.”

Buttercup looked up at her, sniffing, “Y-you really think so?”

Nodding, Xianea said, “You should tell them how you really feel.  Deep down, they miss the Earth as much as you do …they’ll be more than willing to share their feelings back with you, I guarantee it.”

Buttercup wiped the tears from her eyes, and smiled, hugging Xianea’s arm, “Thank you…”  She stayed that way for another few moments, then looked up at her again and added, “Y’know…I really feel like I can talk to you about anything, Xianea…you’re like the mother we never had…”

Xianea smiled, and said, “The other girls are waiting for you…now would be a good time to talk to them.”

                Buttercup nodded, and flew up away from the table.  She hesitated at the door, looking back at Xianea for a moment before finally flying the rest of the way out.  Xianea watched her leave, but then was distracted by the dinner that was cooking off to the side.  It was burning.  Xianea sighed slightly, and smiled once again, thinking, Well, I’m not sure I can salvage much of that dinner, but it’s okay…I salvaged something much more important just now…

 

*              *                *

 

                Xianea’s ship soared across Hkratth space, encircled by a rather heavy escort of eight ships, arranged in a cube-like pattern around them.  They were reminded repeatedly during the trip not to alter their course in any way.  Blossom could tell that they probably didn’t give ‘tours’ to people like this very often.

                “We’re almost there,” Xianea said, looking over at the navigation screen from her seat.  “We should be coming within visual range of the Hkratth homeworld any time now.

                As they watched out of the window, a planet appeared in the distance, and slowly grew larger until it filled the screen.  It looked like it was surrounded by rings at first, similar to Saturn, but as they grew closer to it, it turned out to be a large number of ships and space stations, all huddled together.  The planet itself looked like it was covered mostly with red desert, almost like Mars.  Several cities could be seen on the surface, with various connections between them crossing the planet like a spider web.

                “Reduce your ship’s velocity by sixty percent,” came a message from the communications panel.  “You will not deviate from that velocity until we reach the station for docking.”

                Bubbles looked out of the window, “So that’s the place?  The library we’re looking for is down there somewhere?”

                “All right,” Blossom said.  “I can’t wait to see what it’s like!”

                Xianea almost seemed a little excited herself, “Yes…it’s supposed to be glorious.  And to think, I’ll be the first Centraxian to ever set foot inside of it…”

                Buttercup grinned, “Yeah…probably the last, too.  I dunno if these guys’ll ever let anyone through here again.”

                The ship grew closer to one of the stations in the ‘ring’, and Blossom thought, We just have to find that alien’s journal in the library somewhere, and we’ll be on our way to finding the Omega Particle!  It won’t be much longer now…

 

TO BE CONTINUED…